How does your yorkie act around children? And food possessiveness?? - Page 2 - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Britster · 08-13-2011, 06:26 PM

I agree that a dog should be able to eat in peace. But I think it's very important to be able to trust a dog that if by CHANCE a young child who doesn't know better gets close to them with food, that they are NOT to bite. Growling is one thing... it's a warning, it's their way of communicating and saying 'back off'... but actually biting would be a problem, IMO. I know that I can trust if by chance my 3 1/2 year old sister goes up to Jackson while he's eating, that he's not going to care. I tell her "no" and "let Jackson eat" and she listens and learns. But I could never have a dog that was liable to bite any time a child or person got near his food. If I lived by myself, it'd be something I could manage. But resource guarding in my situation is NOT a good thing. Now if she was getting up in his face (which she HAS done) and I kept telling her no and she got bit, I admit she would deserve it, lol, and hopefully learn. But I just think it's very important to train and at least try to avoid as much as possible. I don't like when people are like "oh the dog loves when the kids tug on his tail, pull his ears, and ride on top of him"... one day the dog WILL have enough and I wish more people would pay attention to how their dog feels. Even if you think they are okay and very tolerant (like Jackson is) I do think all dogs have a snapping point.

laci32 · 08-13-2011, 06:47 PM

Andy is not around children a lot, but when he is I have always watched and he was fine. As far as his foods and any treat I can take it from him. put my hand in the bowl when he is eating etcI started that from get go.

Teresa Ford · 08-13-2011, 07:28 PM

My dogs get posessive over food and treats with eachother, but not with humans. I have fed them by hand out of a bowl, made them sit before the bowl is put down. I do not allow them to fight over Kongs or treats, they get these in their crates. My Yorkies tolerate children when we go for walks and will allow themselves to be petted. In our home they are pretty laid back, because they know every child who comes in. Gracie gets nervous and hides in her crate with noisy children or strangers.

LuvTaycieGirl · 08-13-2011, 07:59 PM

Taycie LOVES kids. I think alot has to do with the fact she has come to work with me since day 1.

I joke she loves them more then me

She does get nervous about her food. She has always been this way. I remember the day I brought her home, she would eat has fast as she could and her little back legs would shake. I know she was the runt, and the most submissive.

She never growls or bites she just will eat as FAST as she can when she feels threatened or nervous. Poor thing. I try to make meal time very quite for her and for the most part she has grown out of her habits. I hand feed her alot and that helps.

My lil friend · 08-13-2011, 08:25 PM

Mina's idea of being posessive of food or treats is to take EVERYONE elses. She doesn't growl,just waits patiently for a treat to not be watched. The funny thing is,my other dogs seem to realize that she is a puppy and just let her. When I catch her I give the treat back to the owner.
Im not sure about kids,she isn't either. There were some little girls at the RV park where we were on vacation. They thought that she was sooo cute and I thought that they were going to pet her fur off of her. She allowed them to touch her,I taught them how to aproach a strange dog, then when she had , had enough I told them and their mother that the cute little puppy was done. They respected what I had said and backed off. So we will see how the next encounter goes. I did have several opertunities to teach kids how to approach a strange dog and was amazed at how many kids and adults didn't know not to just reach for a dog that they didn't know.

Sigi · 08-13-2011, 09:19 PM

Phoebe is only 5 months old and so far she's very good around kids and not aggressive with her food. I have 3 sons (ages 9, 7, and almost 3) who just adore her, and she adores them too! Our youngest feeds her by hand when the mood strikes and she's never growled or bitten him. Our 11 year old cat still hisses at Phoebe and takes swats at her too, but Phoebe still wants to be friends.

When she's got something she's not supposed to have (paper napkin and pacifier are the biggies) she runs to her crate hoping not to get caught. She'll release the paci, but I have to kind of force her mouth open to get the paper towel out.

Belle Noir · 08-13-2011, 11:11 PM

Pixie loves EVERYONE! She never met a person she didn't like and the smaller the kid, the better, because they're more likely to have goodies on their face she can lick off.
Pixie started off a bit food aggressive with canned food. But my mother's cat Sweetie put her in her place. I went to feed her and he said OMG CANNED FOOD and went to stick his nose in her bowl, she growled, he bapped her, she yelped and ran, he got swatted, she got comforted, and she never growled over food again, lol.

concretegurl · 08-13-2011, 11:31 PM

Elvis is not especially fond of most children, mainly 'tweens' who are spontaneous over excited or want to doll baby him.Elvis is not food agressive at all but he will hold on to something in his mouth for dear life if you try to take it.

Scoobers loves everyone (well there is one exception) he wants to lick em all and really is under the impression he's a chi and can fit in your lap-no I don't let him lick sorry those of you who love kisses but I've seen my dogs lick their behinds one too many times to not be totally grossed out by it. Scoobers will do anything for food, mainly tricks.

Scoobers and Elvis go on an off with food aggression towards Princess she's a lil goarger, they run away with their treats and will growl at her, but she's a lil bully she'll give the schnauzer glare and get right in their face until she puts her nose up to theirs and will take their food. She's so mean. She's literally licked their treats and then snatched them out their mouths. We've had a few rolling incidents but nothing serious.

deonk1 · 08-14-2011, 10:01 AM

We have some issues with both that we are working through... As a pup Harley was taught proper food etttiquete and also was socialized with children. He was chased by two little girls at the groomers/pet supply store and he has since decided he hates children. I was so mad at the mother who let the girls swarm him and the other dog (it was one of those situations that they were loose playing and the girls chased before we could grab either of them)... it took us a few minutes to catch them so unfortunately they had a bit of a scare. Now he growls at children and hides. I don't think he'd ever bite, but he is scared of them. It has taken me a lot of re-socializing to fix that problem.

As for the food possession, Harley does it with his dental chews, my coach told me to try and give treats that can be broken up so that he can have more than one at once, so one stick turns into three treats, and she said to reward giving up one, by giving the other, after we played the switching game for a few weeks the snapping stopped. He gets a little cranky if I distrupt him while he's eating one, but he ususally just gets up and walks to the other end of the bed to eat in peace. If I need to now I know I can take it away without loosing my hand.

111lily222 · 08-14-2011, 10:12 AM

Louie LOVES kids!! With food we never had a problem.

Princess10 · 08-14-2011, 11:06 AM

Princess did get along great with kids, but there was an incident where a toddler kicked her & she was pretty leery for a while. She seems to have come back around but the kids haven't. I think my new rule is if they're in between walking & reciting the alphabet backwards they should probably stay away.

But she looooves infants & will sneak attack kiss them.

I don't think I've ever seen her be aggressive with food but I still reach in her bowl as she eats & pet her, etc. to keep it fresh in her mind that it's ok.

deonk1 · 08-14-2011, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princess10

Princess did get along great with kids, but there was an incident where a toddler kicked her & she was pretty leery for a while. She seems to have come back around but the kids haven't. I think my new rule is if they're in between walking & reciting the alphabet backwards they should probably stay away.

But she looooves infants & will sneak attack kiss them.

I don't think I've ever seen her be aggressive with food but I still reach in her bowl as she eats & pet her, etc. to keep it fresh in her mind that it's ok.

I guess I can't play with Pincess...

I still can't recite the alphabet backwards...

Ahis_Mama · 08-14-2011, 12:50 PM

I allow my children to pet Ahi and be near her bowl when she eats. I believe that this is so normal for her that she doesn't care either way. I also did this with my FIL wiener dog Coco. He was completely fine with it until we moved and no one else was around him much except time to time. He then got possessive when someone reached near his bowl. We would then scold him, shoo him away, and give it back to him a few minutes later.
Ahi has only growled two times and it was a "hey come play with me" growl. It was really cute.

YorkieRose · 08-14-2011, 12:58 PM

I do not permit aggression of any sort towards humans for any reason...my Yorkies are never in situations where they can be hurt by a child or adult, so there is not reason to respond with a growl or snarl...

As to food aggression..it is the same...mine allow me to take food out of their mouth if needed...and are trained to stop eating when told..that is what the pack lead does..and when a Yorkie thinks THEY are the pack leader, they can be hard to live with...

ladyjane · 08-14-2011, 01:05 PM

Sometimes dogs that bite really are fearful and not thinking they are pack leaders at all. I take in rescues from all sorts of conditions and don't always know for sure what they have been through.
The notion that a dog needs to be taught who is boss is bunk imho. You have to evaluate the whole dog and what he is reacting to and how before you can say that he thinks he is the boss.
I had two biters long term and each of them were fear biters. They did not think they were the alpha dogs...quite the opposite...they were submissive.

08-13-2011, 06:26 PM	#16
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,815	I agree that a dog should be able to eat in peace. But I think it's very important to be able to trust a dog that if by CHANCE a young child who doesn't know better gets close to them with food, that they are NOT to bite. Growling is one thing... it's a warning, it's their way of communicating and saying 'back off'... but actually biting would be a problem, IMO. I know that I can trust if by chance my 3 1/2 year old sister goes up to Jackson while he's eating, that he's not going to care. I tell her "no" and "let Jackson eat" and she listens and learns. But I could never have a dog that was liable to bite any time a child or person got near his food. If I lived by myself, it'd be something I could manage. But resource guarding in my situation is NOT a good thing. Now if she was getting up in his face (which she HAS done) and I kept telling her no and she got bit, I admit she would deserve it, lol, and hopefully learn. But I just think it's very important to train and at least try to avoid as much as possible. I don't like when people are like "oh the dog loves when the kids tug on his tail, pull his ears, and ride on top of him"... one day the dog WILL have enough and I wish more people would pay attention to how their dog feels. Even if you think they are okay and very tolerant (like Jackson is) I do think all dogs have a snapping point. __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier Last edited by Britster; 08-13-2011 at 06:28 PM.

08-13-2011, 06:47 PM	#17
laci32 Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 901	Andy is not around children a lot, but when he is I have always watched and he was fine. As far as his foods and any treat I can take it from him. put my hand in the bowl when he is eating etcI started that from get go. __________________ Baby Andy

08-13-2011, 07:28 PM	#18
Teresa Ford Therapy Yorkies Work Donating Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Central, Florida Posts: 3,863	My dogs get posessive over food and treats with eachother, but not with humans. I have fed them by hand out of a bowl, made them sit before the bowl is put down. I do not allow them to fight over Kongs or treats, they get these in their crates. My Yorkies tolerate children when we go for walks and will allow themselves to be petted. In our home they are pretty laid back, because they know every child who comes in. Gracie gets nervous and hides in her crate with noisy children or strangers. Last edited by Teresa Ford; 08-13-2011 at 07:29 PM.

08-13-2011, 07:59 PM	#19
LuvTaycieGirl Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Salt Lake City UT,USA Posts: 2,726 Blog Entries: 1	Taycie LOVES kids. I think alot has to do with the fact she has come to work with me since day 1. I joke she loves them more then me She does get nervous about her food. She has always been this way. I remember the day I brought her home, she would eat has fast as she could and her little back legs would shake. I know she was the runt, and the most submissive. She never growls or bites she just will eat as FAST as she can when she feels threatened or nervous. Poor thing. I try to make meal time very quite for her and for the most part she has grown out of her habits. I hand feed her alot and that helps. __________________ Emily and Taycie Love you little girl

08-13-2011, 11:31 PM	#23
concretegurl Between♥Suspensions Donating Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Vaissades Posts: 7,979	Elvis is not especially fond of most children, mainly 'tweens' who are spontaneous over excited or want to doll baby him.Elvis is not food agressive at all but he will hold on to something in his mouth for dear life if you try to take it. Scoobers loves everyone (well there is one exception) he wants to lick em all and really is under the impression he's a chi and can fit in your lap-no I don't let him lick sorry those of you who love kisses but I've seen my dogs lick their behinds one too many times to not be totally grossed out by it. Scoobers will do anything for food, mainly tricks. Scoobers and Elvis go on an off with food aggression towards Princess she's a lil goarger, they run away with their treats and will growl at her, but she's a lil bully she'll give the schnauzer glare and get right in their face until she puts her nose up to theirs and will take their food. She's so mean. She's literally licked their treats and then snatched them out their mouths. We've had a few rolling incidents but nothing serious. __________________ Shan & 8 kids now!

08-13-2011, 08:25 PM	#20
My lil friend Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: FtWorth,TX,USA Posts: 3,269	Mina's idea of being posessive of food or treats is to take EVERYONE elses. She doesn't growl,just waits patiently for a treat to not be watched. The funny thing is,my other dogs seem to realize that she is a puppy and just let her. When I catch her I give the treat back to the owner. Im not sure about kids,she isn't either. There were some little girls at the RV park where we were on vacation. They thought that she was sooo cute and I thought that they were going to pet her fur off of her. She allowed them to touch her,I taught them how to aproach a strange dog, then when she had , had enough I told them and their mother that the cute little puppy was done. They respected what I had said and backed off. So we will see how the next encounter goes. I did have several opertunities to teach kids how to approach a strange dog and was amazed at how many kids and adults didn't know not to just reach for a dog that they didn't know.

08-13-2011, 09:19 PM	#21
Sigi Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Anchorage, AK Posts: 35	Phoebe is only 5 months old and so far she's very good around kids and not aggressive with her food. I have 3 sons (ages 9, 7, and almost 3) who just adore her, and she adores them too! Our youngest feeds her by hand when the mood strikes and she's never growled or bitten him. Our 11 year old cat still hisses at Phoebe and takes swats at her too, but Phoebe still wants to be friends. When she's got something she's not supposed to have (paper napkin and pacifier are the biggies) she runs to her crate hoping not to get caught. She'll release the paci, but I have to kind of force her mouth open to get the paper towel out.

08-13-2011, 11:11 PM	#22
Belle Noir YT Addict Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Reading, PA, USA Posts: 258	Pixie loves EVERYONE! She never met a person she didn't like and the smaller the kid, the better, because they're more likely to have goodies on their face she can lick off. Pixie started off a bit food aggressive with canned food. But my mother's cat Sweetie put her in her place. I went to feed her and he said OMG CANNED FOOD and went to stick his nose in her bowl, she growled, he bapped her, she yelped and ran, he got swatted, she got comforted, and she never growled over food again, lol.

08-14-2011, 10:01 AM	#24
deonk1 YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada Posts: 1,795	We have some issues with both that we are working through... As a pup Harley was taught proper food etttiquete and also was socialized with children. He was chased by two little girls at the groomers/pet supply store and he has since decided he hates children. I was so mad at the mother who let the girls swarm him and the other dog (it was one of those situations that they were loose playing and the girls chased before we could grab either of them)... it took us a few minutes to catch them so unfortunately they had a bit of a scare. Now he growls at children and hides. I don't think he'd ever bite, but he is scared of them. It has taken me a lot of re-socializing to fix that problem. As for the food possession, Harley does it with his dental chews, my coach told me to try and give treats that can be broken up so that he can have more than one at once, so one stick turns into three treats, and she said to reward giving up one, by giving the other, after we played the switching game for a few weeks the snapping stopped. He gets a little cranky if I distrupt him while he's eating one, but he ususally just gets up and walks to the other end of the bed to eat in peace. If I need to now I know I can take it away without loosing my hand. __________________ Kendra Harley, you were the light in my life, rest peacefully my love!

08-14-2011, 10:12 AM	#25
111lily222 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Macomb, MI Posts: 2,112	Louie LOVES kids!! With food we never had a problem. __________________ Dee and Lil' Louie RIP Lil' Brody boy 6.7.99 - 1.3.10

08-14-2011, 11:06 AM	#26
Princess10 Banning Queen Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Home of the Kalamazoo Wings, MI. Posts: 3,122	Princess did get along great with kids, but there was an incident where a toddler kicked her & she was pretty leery for a while. She seems to have come back around but the kids haven't. I think my new rule is if they're in between walking & reciting the alphabet backwards they should probably stay away. But she looooves infants & will sneak attack kiss them. I don't think I've ever seen her be aggressive with food but I still reach in her bowl as she eats & pet her, etc. to keep it fresh in her mind that it's ok. __________________ For The Night Is Dark & Full Of Terriers

08-14-2011, 12:50 PM	#28
Ahis_Mama Living In Paradise! Donating Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Ewa Beach on the island of Oahu Posts: 3,588	I allow my children to pet Ahi and be near her bowl when she eats. I believe that this is so normal for her that she doesn't care either way. I also did this with my FIL wiener dog Coco. He was completely fine with it until we moved and no one else was around him much except time to time. He then got possessive when someone reached near his bowl. We would then scold him, shoo him away, and give it back to him a few minutes later. Ahi has only growled two times and it was a "hey come play with me" growl. It was really cute. __________________ Aloha & Have a wonderful day! Roni~ Ahi Shibi Roxie Heart Alize & Prada

08-14-2011, 12:58 PM	#29
YorkieRose No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South Florida Posts: 8,577	I do not permit aggression of any sort towards humans for any reason...my Yorkies are never in situations where they can be hurt by a child or adult, so there is not reason to respond with a growl or snarl... As to food aggression..it is the same...mine allow me to take food out of their mouth if needed...and are trained to stop eating when told..that is what the pack lead does..and when a Yorkie thinks THEY are the pack leader, they can be hard to live with...

08-14-2011, 01:05 PM	#30
ladyjane Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 27,490	Sometimes dogs that bite really are fearful and not thinking they are pack leaders at all. I take in rescues from all sorts of conditions and don't always know for sure what they have been through. The notion that a dog needs to be taught who is boss is bunk imho. You have to evaluate the whole dog and what he is reacting to and how before you can say that he thinks he is the boss. I had two biters long term and each of them were fear biters. They did not think they were the alpha dogs...quite the opposite...they were submissive. __________________ CLOUD NINE BEDS--YORKIE HAVEN RESCUE MY ETSY SHOP Last edited by ladyjane; 08-14-2011 at 01:08 PM.